| XF-11 | |
|---|---|
| |
| The second Hughes XF-11 during a 1947 test flight | |
| Role | Aerial reconnaissance |
| Manufacturer | Hughes Aircraft |
| Designer | Stanley Bell, Howard Hughes, Ed West[1] |
| First flight | 7 July 1946 |
| Status | Canceled |
| Primary user | United States Army Air Forces |
| Number built | 2 |
| Developed from | Hughes D-2 |
The Hughes XF-11 (redesignated XR-11 in 1948) was a prototype military reconnaissance aircraft designed and flown by Howard Hughes and built by Hughes Aircraft Company for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). Although 100 F-11s were ordered in 1943, the program was delayed beyond the end of World War II, rendering the aircraft surplus to USAAF requirements; the production contract was canceled and only two prototypes were completed. During the first XF-11 flight in 1946, piloted by Hughes, the aircraft crashed in Beverly Hills, California, and was destroyed, critically injuring him.[2][3] The second prototype first flew in 1947 but was used only briefly for testing before being scrapped in 1949.[4][5][6] The program was controversial from the beginning, leading the United States Senate to investigate the XF-11 and the Hughes H-4 Hercules flying boat in 1946–1947.
- ^ Francillon 1990, p. 74.
- ^ Parker 2013, pp. 49–51.
- ^ Bartlett & Steele 2004, p. 140.
- ^ Francillon 1990, pp. 76–77.
- ^ Bartlett & Steele 2004, p. 158.
- ^ Machat 2011, p. 89.